ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Vice chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Anil Khosla PVSM AVSM VM ADC retires
Air Marshal Anil Khosla PVSM AVSM VM ADC, Vice Chief of the Air Staff retired today after an illustrious career spanning four decades.
Born on 09 April 1959, the Air Marshal was commissioned in Fighter stream of Indian Air Force in the year 1979 and had more than 4000 hours of accident free flying mainly on Jaguar, Mig-21 and Kiran aircraft. He is also a post graduate from Defence Services Staff College and holds two M Phil degrees in military studies.
Air Officer had vast instructional experience and was a Directing Staff at prestigious institutions like Tactics and Combat Development Establishment  and Flying Instructors School . He commanded a Jaguar squadron and two frontline bases of the IAF. During his service, Air Marshal Khosla has held various appointments including Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command, Director General Air  at Air HQ , Director General  at Air HQ  and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command.
For his distinguished service, Air Marshal Anil Khosla was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vayu Sena Medal and was commended by the Chief of the Air Staff and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
The Air Marshal celebrated his sixtieth birthday on 09 April and remained a soldier till the last day of his service.
Vice President's Secretariat
India’s presidency of G20 has been inclusive, ambitious and people-centric, says the Vice-President
Outcomes of G20 Summit are transformational, will help reshape the global order in coming decades-VP
Vice-President and Chairman, Rajya Sabha congratulates the nation at the commencement of the 261st session of the Council of States
The Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today congratulated the nation for successfully conducting the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi. Lauding the outcomes of the Summit as ‘transformational’, he expressed his conviction that these outcomes would help in reshaping of the global order in the decades to come.
Addressing the House at the commencement of the 261st session of the Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President stressed that India’s presidency of G20 had elevated the nation’s stature on the global stage. Noting that this presidency had been ‘inclusive, ambitious and people-centric’, he expressed his appreciation for the vision of the leadership that had truly made it ‘People’s G20’, with its reach extending across all States and Union Territories of India.
Drawing attention to the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration, which was adopted unanimously and with consensus, the Vice-President underlined the global acknowledgement of India’s role in ‘bridging the North-South divide and overcoming the strong East-West polarisation’. The declaration is thus a recognition of India as a voice of peace and moderation in a world ridden with divisions, the Vice-President emphasised.
Making special mention of the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor and the Global Biofuels Alliance during the Summit, the Vice-President drew attention to a host of initiatives that have sown the seeds for a more connected future with a key leadership role for India. He also highlighted how India’s Presidency had been instrumental in ‘bringing the voice of the Global South into the heart of the G20 discourse’. The African Union being accepted as a permanent member of the G20 is also the outcome of the initiative led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he elaborated.
Highlighting that the focus of G20 has shifted from a mere economic centric to a much broader human-centric approach, the Vice-President commended the priority accorded to realizing Sustainable Development Goals, establishing digital public infrastructure, promoting a Green Development Pact and encouraging women-led development, among other notable steps. In view of the upcoming Parliament-20 forum, he called upon members of the House to participate in welcoming the world to the ‘Mother of Democracy’ and building on the theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
PIB Headquarters
Seminar on Expanding Global Business
Federation of Indian Export Organizations, set up under Ministry of Commerce, Government of India is organizing a Special Seminar - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM - Expanding Business Globally, jointly with Sharjah Airport International Free Zone Authority at 6 pm on 11th July 2017 at Hotel Taj Vivanta, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, well known as the SAIF-Zone, is the premier business destination situated in the Emirate of Sharjah - the 'industrial powerhouse’ of the UAE with a modern infrastructure and an emphasis on cost effectiveness. The SAIF-Zone today has various companies operating from India carrying out varied business activities like Exports, manufacturing, trading and providing services such as IT etc. Senior delegates from SAIF Zone Authority would interact with the participants on various business opportunities available in UAE. Exporters, those who wish to start Export Business, Business people, and Bank representatives can participate in the highly useful session.
Entry to the seminar is free. For registration and other details contact:
Federation of Indian Export Organisations, 1st Floor, Marine Building, Malabar Road, North End, W/Island, Kochi -682009, Ph:- 8547731069, 8129967069,9895598009, Email- akv@fieo.org
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The Government has taken the following initiatives to reduce the debt burden of farmers:
· With a view to ensuring availability of agriculture credit at a reduced interest rate of 7% p.a. to farmers, the Government of India in the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare implements an interest subvention scheme for short term crop loans up to Rs. 3.00 lakh. Under the said scheme, additional subvention of 3% is given to those farmers who repay their short term crop loan in time, thereby reducing the effective rate of interest to 4% p.a. for such farmers.
· Reserve Bank of India  has issued master directions on relief measures to be provided by lending institutions in areas affected by natural calamities including drought which, inter alia, include identification of beneficiaries, extending fresh loans and restructuring of existing loans, relaxed security and margin norms, moratorium, etc. The benchmark for restructuring of loans has been reduced from 50% to 33% crop loss, in line with the National Disaster Management Framework. In addition, as per the Priority Sector Lending Guidelines issued by RBI, loans to distressed farmers to repay non-institutional lenders, are eligible under priority sector.
· Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana  provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of insured crops due to non-preventable natural risks, thus providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/ damage arising out of unforeseen events; stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming; and encouraging them to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
· For development of agriculture and welfare of farmers of the country, the Government in Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare , is implementing various Central Sector/ Centrally Sponsored Schemes, which include:
i. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 
ii. National Food Security Mission 
iii. National Agriculture Market 
iv. National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture 
· Post demonetisation, Government has taken the following relief measures for the farmers in the cooperative sector:
i. An additional grace period of 60 days for prompt repayment incentive @ 3% was provided to such farmers whose crop loans dues fell due between 01/11/2016 to 31/12/2016 and if such farmers repaid the same within 60 days from their due date in this period.
ii. Interest waiver for two months  for all short term crop loans availed from Cooperative Banks between 01.04.2016 to 30.09.2016 and upfront deposit of the same in the accounts of the concerned farmers.
iii. National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development  raised short term borrowings from the market at prevailing market rate of interest for ₹17,880.78 crore and disbursed the same under refinance for on-lending to Cooperative Banks at 4.5% rate of interest during 2016-17.
This was stated by Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
India - Sweden Virtual Summit
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the King-dom of Sweden H.E. Stefan Löfven today held a Virtual Summit where they discussed bilateral issues and other regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Modi expressed solidarity with the people of Sweden in the wake of the violent attack on 3rd March and prayed for early recov-ery of the injured.
The Prime Minister fondly recalled his 2018 visit to Sweden for the first India-Nordic Summit, and the India visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden in December, 2019.
Both the leaders underlined that the longstanding close relations between India and Sweden were based on shared values of democracy, rule of law, pluralism, equality, freedom of speech, and respect for human rights. They reaffirmed their strong commitment to work for multilateral-ism, rules-based international order, counter terrorism and peace and se-curity. They also acknowledged the growing salience of India’s partnership with the European Union and EU countries.
The two leaders reviewed the extensive ongoing engagement between India and Sweden, and expressed satisfaction at the implementation of the Joint Action Plan and Joint Innovation Partnership agreed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sweden in 2018. They explored avenues of further diversifying the themes under the rubric of these partnerships.
Prime Minister Modi welcomed Sweden’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance . The leaders also noted the growing member-ship of the India-Sweden joint initiative – the Leadership Group on Indus-try Transition  that was launched during the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019 in New York.
The two leaders also discussed the Covid-19 situation including the vaccination drive and stressed the need for vaccine equity by providing urgent and affordable access to vaccines across all nations.
Ministry of Finance
CBDT issues clarification about loss/damage to records in the Scindia House fire at Income Tax Office, Mumbai
News reports have been appearing in some sections of the media alleging that records & documents relating to investigation into the Nirav Modi/Mehul Choksi case have been destroyed in the Scindia House fire in Income Tax Office in Mumbai. It is hereby clarified that the said reports are completely false & misdirected.
It is further clarified that the records/documents of the ongoing investigations into the Nirav Modi/ Mehul Choksi case had already been transferred to the assessment units housed in different buildings, as part of the assessment process.
Apprehensions about any loss/ damage to the records/documents relating to the Nirav Modi/Mehul Choksi case in the said fire at the IT Office, Mumbai are, therefore, misplaced.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Govt commits Rs. 7,385 crore under Fund of Funds for Startup India Investment for 88 Alternative Investment Funds ; 720 startups supported by AIFs
Amount committed under FFS records a CAGR of over 21% since launch in 2016
Performing startups supported through FFS show valuation increase by more than 10 times with some achieving unicorn status
Fund of Funds for Startups , launched under Startup India initiative in 2016 by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has committed Rs. 7,385 crore to 88 Alternative Investment Funds  as of 24th September 2022. These AIFs in turn have invested Rs. 11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in Indian startup ecosystem.
FFS was announced with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore. The corpus is to be built up over 14th and 15th Finance Commission Cycles  through budgetary support by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Under FFS, support is extended to SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds , which in turn invest in startups.
FFS has not only made capital available for startups at early stage, seed stage and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in terms of facilitating raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital and encouraging home grown and new venture capital funds. Collectively, the AIFs supported by FFS have a target corpus of over Rs. 48,000 crore. Among the prominent AIFs of leading startup investment firms supported under FFS are Chiratae Ventures, India Quotient, Blume Ventures, IvyCap, Waterbridge, Omnivore, Aavishkaar, JM Financial, Fireside Ventures, and more.
The amount committed under FFS has seen a notable growth over the years recording a CAGR of over 21% in since the launch of the Scheme. Furthermore, Small Industries Development Bank of India  which is responsible for operationalising the Scheme has undertaken a series of reforms recently to expedite the drawdowns to enable AIFs assisted under FFS to avail accelerated drawdowns. This has created a positive impact and have resulted in year on year  surge of 100% in the amount of drawdowns.
FFS has helped anchor 67 AIFs out of 88 AIFs supported and 38 of these are first time fund managers which is line with FFS’s core objective of anchoring venture capital investments for Indian startups.
Investments into eligible startups is approximately 3.7 times of FFS disbursements which is well above the minimum stipulated 2 times under the Scheme. Performing startups supported through FFS are showing valuation increase by more than 10 times with number of them even achieving unicorn status . Dunzo, CureFit, FreshToHome, Jumbotail, Unacademy, Uniphore, Vogo, Zostel,Zetwerk etc., are some of the notable startups funded through FFS.The returns generated from the success of these startups and innovation created will remain within the country and facilitate generation of employment and creation of wealth.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people of Manipur on their Statehood Day
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people of Manipur on their Statehood Day.
“May Manipur continue to scale new heights of growth in the times to come”, the Prime Minister said.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
REVIVAL OF AVIATION SECTOR
The aviation sector including airlines, airports, and related services have come under financial stress on account of COVID-19 pandemic. The details of major steps taken by the Government to revive the civil aviation sector during this period, inter alia, are as follows:
- Provide support to airlines through various policy measures.
- Provide airport infrastructure through Airports Authority of India and the private operators.
- Promotion of private investments in existing and new airports through the PPP route
- Provide an efficient Air Navigation System.
- Through Air Bubble Arrangements, efforts have been made to ensure fair and equitable treatment to our carriers in the international sector.
- Goods and Services Tax  rate reduced to 5% from 18% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul  services.
- A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.
- Route rationalization in the Indian airspace in coordination with Indian Air Force for efficient airspace management, shorter routes and lower fuel consumption.
- Coordination with stakeholders to resolve issues.
The key outcome of these measures has been that inspite of the pandemic, domestic operations have reached about 50% of pre Covid level. Also the number of freighters has increased from 7 to 28.
This information was given by General  Dr.V.K. Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviationin a written reply to Shri M.V. Shreyams Kumar in Rajya Sabha today.
RKJ/M
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Ministry of Textiles
Major growth of Textiles will come from Man-Made Fibre industry: Shri Goyal
Textile industry confident of raising export to 100 billion USD in 5-6 years
Major growth of textiles will come from Man-Made Fibre industry, said Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry while interacting with industry representatives here today. The industry representatives included producers of PTA, MEG, Fibre, Yarn, Fabric and Garments.
The Hon’ble Minister called upon the industry representatives and said that we should aspire to reach a stage where the entire demand is fulfilled by domestic supply thus making the industry Atma Nirbhar. This will secure the raw material availability to lakhs of weavers involved in the polyester value chain, thereby leading to enhanced production of finished goods, enabling realization of the export targets.
He suggested that industry should understand each other and work in synergy to amicably resolve the issues among the producers and users of the polyester in the entire value chain.
The industry representatives responded that they are very much hopeful of achieving the export of 100 billion USD in the next 5 to 6 years.
The industry representatives said the expansion of production capacity of key raw materials for manufacturing of Polyester viz. Purified Terephthalic Acid  and Monoethylene Glycol  is essential for increased production of downstream industry.
It was informed that additional capacities of PTA are being set up and lakhs of looms are also being installed by the downstream industry which is still fragmented.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
219.09 cr Total Vaccine doses  have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
4,93,352 doses administered in last 24 hours
India's Active caseload currently stands at 26,292
Active cases stand at 0.06%
Recovery Rate currently at 98.76%
3,208 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to
4,40,63,406
2,139 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate 
Weekly Positivity Rate 
89.76 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 2,64,216 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
Ministry of Power
Power System Operation Corporation Limited is now Grid Controller of India Limited
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- Change in name made to reflect the critical role of Grid Operators in ensuring integrity, reliability, economy, resilience and sustainable operation of the Indian Electricity Grid
India’s National Grid Operator “Power System Operation Corporation Limited ” today announced that POSOCO has changed its name to “Grid Controller of India Limited”. The change in name has been made to reflect the critical role of Grid Operators in ensuring integrity, reliability, economy, resilience and sustainable operation of the Indian Electricity Grid.
“Grid Controller of India Limited” name change is a welcome step as it has unique position at the heart of India’s energy system connecting people to the energy they use. It explains the functions performed by the Grid Managers in the country at National and Regional Levels,” said Sh. S. R. Narasimhan, Chairman & Managing Director, Grid Controller of India Limited. “The change in name is also to reflect who we are and the role we play in clean energy transition”. We continue to be driven by our vision i.e. “To be a global institution of excellence for reliable & resilient power systems, fostering efficient electricity markets, promoting economy and sustainability” with a renewed vigour, he added.
“Grid Controller of India Limited ” operates the National Load Despatch Centre  and five  Regional Load Despatch Centres . Grid-India is also designated as the nodal agency for major reforms in the power sector such as implementation and operation of Green Energy Open Access Portal, Renewable Energy Certificate  Mechanism, transmission pricing, short term open access in transmission, Deviation Settlement Mechanism, Power System Development Fund , etc.
President's Secretariat
PRESIDENT OF INDIA TO VISIT GUJARAT FROM SEPTEMBER 12 TO 13
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu will visit Gujarat from September 12 to 13, 2023.
In the evening of September 12, 2023, the President will land in Gandhinagar.
On September 13, 2023, the President will inaugurate the project ‘National e-Vidhan Application’  and address the members of Gujarat Legislative Assembly at Gandhinagar. On the same day, she will virtually launch the ‘Ayushman Bhav’ initiative of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, from the Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar.
Ministry of Defence
CINCAN visits units of ANC in Nicobar Group of Islands
Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command  Lt Gen Ajai Singh visited the military units and formations in the Nicobar Group of Islands on June 03, 2021. He visited Naval Air Station Baaz, Campbell Bay and Air Force Station Car Nicobar, where he was briefed about the operational readiness and preparedness.
During his visit to INS Baaz, the southernmost military airfield of India and the outpost at Indira Point, the southernmost point of India, Lt Gen Ajai Singh encouraged the personnel to maintain high vigil and appreciated their dedication. At Car Nicobar, he honoured the personnel and families who had lost their lives during the Tsunami on December 26, 2004 by laying a wreath in their memory at the Tsunami Memorial there.
The CINCAN interacted with the troops of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, Defence Security Corps, General Reserve Engineer Force as well as defence civilians stationed at Campbell Bay and Car Nicobar. He complimented all ranks for their performance and exhorted them to continue the good work and maintain a high state of alertness and operational readiness. Lt Gen Singh advised the personnel to continue strict protective measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABB/Nampi/DK/Savvy/ADA
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Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Revamping Food Processing Industries
In order to deal with constraints faced by Food Processing sector and to ensure its overall growth and development across the country, the Ministry of Food Processing industries  has been implementing Central Sector Umbrella Scheme - Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana , centrally sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme  and Central Sector Production Linked Incentive Scheme .
Under component schemes of PMKSY, MoFPI provides mostly credit linked financial assistance  in the form of grants-in-aid to individuals, farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations , Entrepreneurs, Cooperatives, Societies, Self Help Groups , Private Companies and Central/ State PSUs etc. for setting up of food processing industries/ units/ projects. Ministry provides financial, technical and business support for setting up/ upgradation of micro food processing enterprises under PMFME scheme. PLISFPI is targeted to facilitate expansion of food processing capacity by creating championbrands in Food Processing Sector.
This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM meets Mr David Malpaas, President of World Bank Group
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with Mr David Malpaas, President of World Bank Group in New Delhi. Both the dignitaries discussed diverse subjects, particularly, futuristic sectors of growth and innovation. Mr. Malpaas affirmed the World Bank Group’s support for India in “Amrit Kaal” to achieve and sustain high growth rates.
In response to a tweet by Mr David Malpass, Shri Modi tweeted;
“Had a great discussion with you on diverse subjects, particularly futuristic sectors of growth and innovation. @DavidMalpassWBG”